Fire extinguishing closure for containers



S. F. OCONNOR FIRE EXTINGUISHING CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Dec. 16, 1947,

Filed March 7, 1944 Patented Dec. 16, 1947 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FIRE EXTINGUISHING CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Stephen F. OConnor, Oak Patient, assigncr to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation .of New York Application March 7, 1944,*Seria'l No. 525,466

2 Claims. 1

This invention relates tocontainers and more particularly to a safety cover for a container for flammable material,

It is an object of the present invention to pro- Vide a safe and simple apparatus for containing flammable material.

In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, a container and a cover therefor are mountedon a framework and the cover is supported by four bar links, so pivoted on the framework that, in closing, the front of the cover will first engage the front of the container, thus to deflect flames from the container of flammable material away from an operator using the container. The cover, in moving to its open position, is carried by the links to a position away from the open top of the container and will be held in that position by a cooperating fusible link and spring urged latch.

A complete understanding of the invention may be had by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, wherein Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of a container having a cover supported in accordance with the present invention, parts of the apparatus being broken away to conserve space, and

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

As shown in the drawings, wherein like reference characters designate the same parts in the two views, the reference numeral 5 designates a container for containing a supply of flammable material, such, for example, as a dipping lacquer, wherein parts are to be dipped to coat them with the lacquer. A base frame, comprised of two side angle members 6 and a front angle member 8, an intermediate angle member 9, and a rear angle member iii are provided and the container 5'is adapted to nest between the front and intermediate members and the two side members. Extending upwardly from the base frame and suitably attached, for example, as by welding to the rear angle member ID and the side angle members 6 and l, are a pair of upright angle members H and 12, which are joined together at their upper ends by a connecting angle member l3.

Mounted on the connecting angle member i3 at approximately the center thereof is a bent channel member 5, which may be secured to the connecting member l3 in any suitable manner, for example, by welding it thereto. This channel member it has mounted adjacent the lower or forward end thereof a pin l1 for receiving one end of a fusible link It, the other end of which is attached. to a contractile spring I9. The contractile spring H! has its other or rearwardly extending end attached to a pin 20 fixed on one end of a bell crank lever 2|. The bell crank lever 2| is pivoted by means of a pivot pin 23 on a bracket 22, suitably mounted on the channel member l6, and the upper end of the bell crank lever, as shown most clearly in Fig. 2, is normally urged by the spring I9 to engage a stop pin 24. At its lower end, .the bell crank lever 2| has a latching and camming projection 25 formed on it for engaging a latch member 25, which extends upwardly from a lid or cover 21. The lid or cover 21 is mounted upon four link bars 3|, 32, 33 and 34-, to which the lid or cover is pivotally connected by means of pins .35, 35, 31 and 38, respectively. The lower ends of the levers 3| and 33 are pivotally mounted on side angle members 6 and by means of pivot pins l |9, only one of which is shown. The lower ends of the link bars 32 and 34 are pivoted about pivot pins 40 and 4|, suitably mounted on blocks 42 and 43 attached to the upright angle members [2 and II, respectively.

As shown in the drawings, the lid or cover 21 is in its inoperative position, where it is held by the projection 25 engaging the latch member 26. However, in the event that through some unforeseen accident, the material in the container, for example, the lacquer being used to coat articles, becomes ignited, the fusible link l8 will melt and the cover or lid 21 will be released due to the breaking of the connection between the spring l9 and pin I! at the fusible link. When this occurs, the cover will fall by gravity from the position shown in full lines in Figs. 1 and 2, to the position shown in dot and dash lines in Fig. 2. The cover,

in moving to the dot and dash line position, will cause the link bars 3|, 32, 33 and 34 to rock to the dotted line position. As the cover moves from its full line position (Fig. 2), to its dotted line position, the forward or front end 44 of the cover will engage the front edge of the container 5 before the rear of the lid or cover 2'! completely closes the container, thus to extinguish the fire in the container. In thus moving to its closed position, the lid will first deflect the flame away from an operator who might be dipping articles into the container 5 and will then snuff the flame by excluding air from it, thus to accomplish the dual purpose of extinguishing the flame and deflecting the flame from the operator. The cover 21 may be restored to its inoperative position by pushing it up and back, after a new link l8 has been connected between pin I I and spring I9, whereby the latch member 26 will engage and cam the projection 25 out of the position shown after which the projection will snap into engagement with the latch member 26 to latch the cover. After the latch member has moved to the position shown in Fig. 2, it will hold the cover in its raised position until released either manually or by the fusing of the link I8.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination of container having an opening, one side readily accessible to an operator and a safety cover therefor comprising a cover member, a pair of links pivotally connected to opposite ends of the cover memberat forward pivot points adjacent the cover edge closest to said one side when the cover is in a closed position, a second pair of links pivotally connected to said opposite ends of the cover at intermediate points to the rear of said forward pivot points, mean-s for pivotally supporting said first pair of links to the rear of said forward pivot points and below the plane of said opening, means for pivotally supporting said second pair of links at a point to the rear of said intermediate points and substantially in the plane of said opening, a trip latch cooperating with said links to normally hold said cover in an inoperative open position inclined rearwardly and upwardly with the front edge thereof in substantial alignment with a side of the opening opposite to said one side, said links cooperating to carry the cover member from said open position toward said one side at an angle to deflect flames away from and to the rear of said one side in closing, and a fusible link associated with said trip latch and operable to release said trip latch at a predetermined temperature.

2. The combination of a container for flammable material having an opening and having a front edge readily accessible to an operator with a safety cover for said opening comprising a cover member for closing said opening and having a front edge in engagement with the front edge of said opening when in a closed position, a heat responsive trip latch for holding said cover member against the force of gravity in an open position inclined rearwardly and upwardly above and to the rear of the front edge of said opening to permit convenient access to said opening from the direction of said front edge, said trip latch being operable at a predetermined temperature to release said cover member, and linkage means to cooperate with said latch in holding the cover member in said open position and also upon release of said cover member to guide its descent from said open position to a closed position, the cover member being maintained by said linkage at a changing angle during its descent to deflect flames from said opening away from and to the rear of the front edge of the opening, said linkage means comprising a pair of links pivotally connected at their upper ends to opposite ends of the cover member and adjacent its front edge, pivot supports connected to the lower end of said links at a point to the rear of the pivotal connection at the upper ends of said links and below the plane of said opening, a second pair of links having one end pivotally connected to said opposite ends of the cover member at a point to the rear of the pivotal connection at the upper ends of said first pair of links, and pivot supports for the other ends of said second pair of links located to the rear of the pivot connection at the other end of said second pair of links and substantially in the plane intersecting the pivot connections on said cover member when the cover is in its closed position.

STEPHEN F. OCONNOR.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,147,033 Maloney July 20, 1915 1,480,089 Mancha Jan. 8, 1924 2,155,464 Anschicks Apr. 25, 1939 2,090,414 Haapalakso Aug. 1'7, 1937 2,120,449 Vanderveld June 14, 1938 1,367,954 Evans, Jr Feb, 8, 1921 2,201,161 Deans May 21, 1940 

